Empire · 1752–1885 · Southeast Asia
Konbaung Burma
Also known as Burma
When Mon forces sacked Ava in 1752, a village chief named Aung Zeya rallied resistance, took the royal name Alaungpaya and reunified Burma within a decade. His sons were formidable conquerors: Hsinbyushin destroyed Ayutthaya in 1767 and beat back four Qing invasions, and Bodawpaya annexed Arakan in 1785, after which Burmese armies pushed into Manipur and Assam.
That advance brought Burma into conflict with British India. Three Anglo-Burmese wars followed; in 1826 Burma lost Assam, Arakan and Tenasserim, and in 1852 Lower Burma with Rangoon. King Mindon tried to modernise from his new capital at Mandalay, but in 1885 Britain seized the rest of the kingdom and exiled King Thibaw to India. Burma was ruled as part of British India until 1937 and became independent in 1948.
- Years
- 1752–1885
- Capital
- Shwebo, Ava and Amarapura at different times; Mandalay from 1857
- Greatest extent
- 1824, about 794,000 km²
- Region
- Southeast Asia
c. 794,000 km² (Harvey 1925), including Assam, Manipur and Arakan, before the First Anglo-Burmese War
Legacy
The Konbaung kings unified the lands that make up modern Myanmar, and Mandalay's royal city remains a symbol of Burmese independence.
Rulers
- Alaungpaya 1752–1760
Founder who reunified Burma
- Hsinbyushin 1763–1776
Destroyed Ayutthaya and repelled Qing invasions
- Bodawpaya 1782–1819
Conquered Arakan
- Bagyidaw 1819–1837
Lost the First Anglo-Burmese War
- Mindon 1853–1878
Reforming king who founded Mandalay
- Thibaw 1878–1885
Last king, exiled by the British
Realms on the map
- Konbaung Dynasty 1752–1819
- Burma 1820–1989
- Myanmar since 1990